Elon Musk conflict complaints appear moot with Trump in charge

WASHINGTON — As Democrats in Congress claim that billionaire Elon Musk’s business interests conflict with his White House role, those versed in federal ethics say it largely falls on President Donald Trump and his Cabinet — not independent watchdog agencies — to enforce such rules.

That makes it unlikely that Musk, the de facto head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency as a designated special government employee, could face consequences under conflict of interest law, according to several experts asked to examine his situation through the lens of federal rules.

Democrats accuse Musk of interfering with the operations and contracts of NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration because he is CEO of SpaceX, an entity regulated by the FAA, and its satellite subsidiary Starlink.

Those tensions came to a head last month over allegations that Musk influenced the FAA to back out of a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon Communications Inc. in favor of Starlink. Musk criticized the contract and added that “Starlink terminals are being sent at NO COST to the taxpayer on an emergency basis to restore air traffic control connectivity.”

—CQ-Roll Call

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wants phones out of the classroom. Not everyone agrees

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Jill Friday said her Spanish language classrooms at Southeast High School in Springfield last year often felt like student living rooms, with kids scrolling on their phones, taking calls from family members and listening to music on headphones.

After weeks of tripping on phone chargers snaking around chairs, Friday enlisted a school janitor to plug up all the charging outlets. Students still snuck to the halls to charge their phones and answer family calls.

Those problems ended, for the most part, last August, when the Springfield school district enacted new rules requiring high schoolers to have their phones off and put away during class, middle schoolers to keep their phones in their lockers and elementary schoolers to keep them in their bags. Previously, each school could write its own policy.

The district’s phone policy update was a relief for Friday. “In the past, kids would just sit there passively because they already had something else to do, and it was called being on the phone, which just makes you not want to get out of bed some mornings and go into work,” Friday said in an interview. “I was in this weird triangulated corner telling kids to not answer their mom, and parents told them to answer their calls, but now it’s against policy, and I feel like I’m a teacher again.”

—Chicago Tribune

Hundreds of wild horses roam Colorado. Can more state involvement head off helicopter roundups?

DENVER — Colorado could take a more proactive and permanent role in managing the wild horse herds that roam the Western Slope under a bill in the state legislature.

Advocates hope House Bill 1283 will make the state a model for cooperative management of the charismatic and controversial species. It would permanently give the Colorado Department of Agriculture more responsibility over the herds — which are formally managed by the federal Bureau of Land Management — and implement recommendations from the Wild Horse Working Group created in 2023.

The department would have more authority to implement fertility control measures used to constrain the wild horse population, which federal authorities say is larger than the landscape can support.

The bill is the culmination of years of work to address the complex challenge posed by the species, said House Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Jefferson County Democrat sponsoring the bill.

—The Denver Post

Istanbul University annuls diploma for Erdogan challenger

ISTANBUL — The university degree of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu has been revoked, state broadcaster TRT reported on Tuesday, just days ahead of his anticipated nomination as a presidential candidate.

Istanbul University has decided to annul the main opposition CHP politician's diploma, TRT said. According to the Turkish constitution, a university degree is a prerequisite for running for president.

İmamoglu is set to be nominated as the CHP's presidential candidate on Sunday. The next presidential elections in Turkey are scheduled to take place in 2028. İmamoglu and his party sharply criticized the decision.

In a message posted on X, the mayor said he will maintain his presidential candidacy bid, vowing to fight back in the courts against the "unlawful" decision. The diploma was reportedly revoked over an illegal university transfer back in the early 1990s. The Istanbul mayor is considered a serious challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

—dpa